Stanislovas Rapalionis (1485–1545) was a founder of the first Lithuanian language

Lithuanian language

Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...

 school in Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

, a professor of theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 in Königsberg Albertina University, and the first translator of the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 into Lithuanian, although this translation has not survived.

Rapalionis was a Lithuanian noble born near Eišiškės

Eišiškes

Eišiškės ) is a city in southeastern Lithuania on the border with Belarus. It is situated on a small group of hills, surrounded by marshy valley of Verseka and Dumblė Rivers. Rivers divide the town into two parts; the northern part is called Jurzdika. As of January 2008, Eišiškės had a population...

. After becoming a student of Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

, he was persecuted for his Lutheran

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

 beliefs by Grand Duke Sigismund Augustus

Sigismund II Augustus

Sigismund II Augustus I was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548...

 and left the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

. He received his doctoral thesis in Wittenberg

Wittenberg

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....

 with a scholarship sponsored by Albert, Duke of Prussia.

Rapalionis was the first professor of theology at the Königsberg

Königsberg

Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...

 seminary, the predecessor of the Albertina University, where he quickly grew famous for his lectures. The lectures of Rapalionis were attended by prominent members of the Prussian establishment, including Albert.

After Rapalionis died in Königsberg, Albert ordered his body entombed in Königsberg Cathedral

Königsberg Cathedral

Königsberg Cathedral is a Brick Gothic style building in Kaliningrad on an island in the Pregel . The island was called Kneiphof in German times.-14th Century to World War II:...

. The inscription "Here lies a great man, the pride of the Lithuanian nation

Lithuanians

Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...

." was inscribed on his tomb.